Adecco Maxi OD - Kiel to Stockholm Race

ANOTHER VICTORY FOR LUDDE INGVALL

STOCKHOLM—Ludde Ingvall appears to be omnipotent in the Maxi One Design class; he scored his third successive victory with his European entry, Skandia, in the Adecco World Championship by winning the 386 mile race from Kiel to Stockholm by 11 ½ minutes from Ross Field’s RF Yachting. Ingvall leads the championship by 7.5 points ahead of Field.

NOT A DIFFICULT RACE

Ingvall was lightly dismissive of the race, because of the conditions, saying, ‘It was not difficult and neither was it exciting.’ The winds had been light for most of the time, almost nothing soon after the start, and always came from abeam, making the sailing very simple. ‘All we had to do was steer the course to where we wanted to go,’ said Tony Gale, one of the helmsmen aboard Geoff Meek’s South African entry, Rainbow Magic.

Gale, who will be the helmsman of the German Mumm 36 in the Admiral’s Cup next month, added, ‘I was hoping for the truly exciting sailing I know these boats can give, but the wind did not oblige.’ Meek nodded in agreement, ‘It was simply a boat speed, drag race,’ adding somewhat wistfully, ‘And we haven’t found the boat speed yet.’

START IMPORTANT

Ingvall assured the waiting spectators in Saltsjobaden, south-east of Stockholm where the boats are berthed until July 3rd, the day before the Round Gotland Race, that the start at Kiel was critical, ‘I am sure that the very early part was most important as our good start put us in a commanding position. As usual in sailing races, the rich (those in front) get richer, and this continued all the time. We didn’t have to take risks, we were all sailing in the same direction, all in line astern. We had to trim the sails all the time and the crew was always sitting on the weather rail, helping to keep the boat more upright.’

The start was from in front of the Kieler Yacht Club in Kiel River. Skandia won the start and led Pierre Mas (FRA) in Le Defi Bouygues Telecom – Transiciel and Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI) in Alinghimax as they made their way to Kieler Forde.

CRUCIAL POINT

The one place in the race where it was crucial to be ahead was at the Mees Mast buoy. It was around seven hours after the start, and from there on it was straight line sailing. The Maxi One Designs were reaching at between 12 and 14 knots in up to 20 knots of easterly breeze. From then on, the gaps between the boats remained much the same. ‘We were all sailing the same speed,’ commented Ludde Ingvall.

BOAT SPEED THE DIFFERENCE – BUT WHY?

The reason why Skandia was able to make the early break, according to Ross Field, who finished second into Stockholm, was that, ‘Boat speed made the difference. Their sails are differently cut and that is why they go faster.’ Ingvall would not entirely agree. ‘We have set up out boat quite differently, and we will see how long it takes for them to find out.’

Field believes he has the better crew and that it will not be long before he is regularly beating Ingvall’s crew. ‘My crew is better,’ he declared, ‘and we will win the next race. Only time will tell who is right.

CHANGES PLANNED

Little could be done during the race, but Field already had plans afoot in his search for some extra speed. ‘We will re-cut all our sails in the next three days he said,’ when RF Yachting reached Saltsjobaden. ‘We are a slight edge ahead of the others, and we are very motivated to be the first to beat Ludde and his crew, particularly in the Round Gotland Race.’

KIEL – STOCKHOLM

Finishing times (today):

1. Skandia          (EUR) Ludde Ingvall      06:36:44
2. RF Yachting      (NZL) Ross Field         06:48:18
3. Le Defi Telecom  (FRA) Pierre Mas         07:26:44
4. Alinghimax       (SUI) Ernesto Bertarelli 07:26:44
5. Synphony         (BEL) Hans Bouscholte    07:45:05
6. Rainbow Magic    (RSA) Geoff Meek         08:13:53
7. Seac Banche      (ITA) Guido Maisto       10:43:53
8. Team Henri-Lloyd (SWE) Gunnar Krantz      DNS